Usindiso fire inquiry resumes with evidence from the city manager

After a lengthy break, the Usindiso fire inquiry, which investigated the Joburg CBD inferno that took the lives of 76 residents, resumes on Wednesday. 

Officially known as the Khampepe commission, the inquiry was established to investigate the cause of the Usindiso building fire in August 2023 and the prevalence of hijacked buildings in the city.

The commission hearings are set to resume with evidence from Tshepo Makola, the city's manager. 

The hearings come after the commission has completed its loco inspections, which happened between July and September last year.

According to the commission, at least 140 buildings were inspected, including the old Post Office on Rissik Street. Observations by the commission suggested a state of dilapidation and a property that was not habitable. The building was home to vulnerable and homeless people. 

In the last hearing, architect expert Heather Dodd told the commission that the inner city housing market was “stuck”.

“This has been the case for some time. There is the inability to move to redevelop buildings, because they may be occupied by people and there is no opportunity to move them into appropriate alternative accommodation ... I think that a successful city has to maintain a balance between housing for the poor and a range of housing options. It cannot be a city that only caters to the rich and only for the poor. I know that sounds perhaps idealistic, but I think it is the case,” said Dodd.

As the commission’s work draws to a near close, not only is it expected to recommend solutions for the issues of housing but clarify on the causes that led to abandoned and hijacked buildings which are a reality of Johannesburg.

Meanwhile, the city continues with its reclaiming project which plays out in the form of evictions and raids. In December 2024, 145 residents were evicted from an alleged hijacked building, Moth House in Braamfontein, which belongs to the City of Johannesburg.

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